Anointed Quorum in Nauvoo 1842 to 1845

The Anointed Quorum in
Nauvoo, 1842-45

Devery S. Anderson

On 4 MAY 1842, Joseph Smith and nine other men assembled in
the room above his red brick store in Nauvoo and, with his
brother, Hyrum, administered to them the endowment ceremony
that would later be reserved for the temple, slowly rising in gleam-
ing limestone on the bluff above them. They were James Adams,
Heber C. Kimball, William Law, William Marks, George Miller,
Willard Richards, Newel K. Whitney, and Brigham Young. The
next day, these eight would bestow the same washings, anointings,
and endowment upon Joseph and Hyrum.

According to Glen M. Leonard, the instructions and covenants

[set] forth a pattern or figurative model for life. The teachings began
with a recital of the creation of the earth and its preparation to host
life. The story carried the familiar ring of the Genesis account, echoed
as well in Joseph Smith's revealed book of Moses and book of
Abraham. The disobedience and expulsion of Adam and Eve from

DEVERY S. ANDERSON {devery@attbi.com}, a graduate in history at the
University of Utah, is the author of the four-part "History of Dialogue,"
published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and is writing a
biography of Willard Richards. This essay is based on the introduction to
"Meetings of Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845: A Documentary
History (working title), edited by Devery S. Anderson and Gary James
Bergera, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, forthcoming in 2004). Copyright
by the Smith-Pettit Foundation.

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the Garden of Eden set the stage for an explanation of Christ's
atonement for that original transgression and for the sins of the entire
human family. Also included was a recital of mankind's tendency to
stray from the truth through apostasy and the need for apostolic
authority to administer authoritative ordinances and teach true gos-
pel principles. Participants were reminded that in addition to the
Savior's redemptive gift they must be obedient to God's command-
ments to obtain a celestial glory. Within the context of these gospel
instructions, the initiates made covenants of personal virtue and
benevolence and of commitment to the church. They agreed to
devote their talents and means to spread the gospel, to strengthen
the church, and to prepare the earth for the return of Jesus Christ. 1

A primary purposes of the endowment was to teach initiates the
true order of prayer, during which participants could pray with the
confidence that their prayers would be answered.

By receiving these ordinances on these two days in early May
1842, this group of men set themselves apart from the rest of the
church and formed the beginnings of the Quorum of the Anointed
(also called the "Holy Order"), an elite body of men (and later
women) possessing special power and status. Joseph Smith would
initiate only one more ordinance before his death: the second
anointing (or fullness of the priesthood ordinance) in 1843. 2 This
article is an in-depth exploration of the individuals who made up the
Quorum of the Anointed, the evolution of that quorum over time,
particularly before Joseph Smith's death, and its purpose. From the

^len M. Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, A People of Promise (Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book, 2002), 258-59.

2 The function and purpose of the Quorum of the Anointed must be
understood in the broader context of Joseph Smith's unfolding
understanding of temple theology and accompanying ordinances.
Although such a history lies outside the scope of this paper, it includes
"power from on high" associated with ordination to the Melchizedek
Priesthood in Kirtland, Ohio (1831), the construction and dedication of
the Kirtland Temple (1833-36), the establishment of the School of the
Prophets (1832-33), the ordinance of washing feet (1833), the development
of the concept of sealing first referred to in the Book of Mormon, washings
and anointings (1836), baptism for the dead (1840), the Nauvoo Temple
(begun 1840), marriage for eternity (1841), the establishment of a Masonic
Lodge in Nauvoo (1841), and the endowment ceremony (begun May 1842).

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

139

minutes kept of this quorum and references scattered throughout
diaries and the reminisces of participants, it is possible to reconstruct
its meeting schedule, typical procedure, and goals. Although fre-
quently misunderstood as having a political purpose, this quorum
instead seems to have served almost exclusively a spiritual purpose,
uniting its participants in prayer and bringing them consolation and
affirmation as they faced increasing tensions in Nauvoo after the
deaths of Joseph and Hyrum.

The nine men who were the first to experience the modern
temple endowment were all members of Nauvoo's Masonic lodge.
Three had been Masons for more than two decades. Hyrum Smith
had apparently joined sometime before 1821; Heber C. Kimball
became a member in 1823; and George Miller had been a Mason
since 1819. James Adams had joined a lodge in Illinois after the
Saints had entered the state. 3 Joseph's explanation of similarities
between the two ceremonies, according to Kimball, was that "ma-
sonary was taken from presthood but has become degenerated." 4
Nineteenth-century accounts of the two rituals show that they con-
tain a handful of nearly identical words and gestures. 5 For those
believing in the restoration of all things, such parallels would have
pointed to the ancient origins of Free Masonry. 6 Historian D. Mi-

3 Andrew F. Ehat, "Joseph Smith's Introduction of Temple
Ordinances and the 1844 Mormon Succession Question" (M.A. thesis,
Brigham Young University, 1982), 4243.

4 Heber C. Kimball, Letter to Parley and Mary Ann Pratt, 17 June
1842, Archives, Historical Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah (hereafter LDS Church Archives). "It may not
be coincidental that the Holy Order consisted of nine men," observed
Michael Homer, "'Similarity of Priesthood in Masonry': The Relationship
Between Freemasonry and Mormonism," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon
Thought 27 (Fall 1994): 38. "A Royal Arch Chapter, also known as the Holy
Order of the Royal Arch, consists of at least nine Master Masons, and was
the next logical step on Freemasonry for those who had advanced to the
third degree."

5 David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon
Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994), 53-55.

^he view that Masonry originated during the construction of King
Solomon's temple has been abandoned by modern scholars, and most
Mormons today do not believe that the divinity of the endowment depends

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chael Quinn observes that, despite the similarities, "the Mormon
endowment or Holy Order had the specific purpose of preparing
the initiate for 'an ascent into heaven/ whereas Freemasonry did
not." 7 Another factor, whose contribution to the text of the endow-
ment was just as, if not more, important, was Joseph's study of the
Bible, Book of Moses, and Book of Abraham.

By 1840, Masonry had developed from a network of crafts
guilds into a fraternity emphasizing personal study, self-improve-
ment, and service. One of Masonry's important benefits from a Mor-
mon standpoint was the pledge of protection that members swore
to each other. 8 Joseph supported the idea of a Nauvoo lodge for the
prestige it would bring to the city and church. Initial requests to the

on the ancient origins of Masonry. According to Armand L. Mauss,
"Culture, Charisma, and Change: Reflections on Mormon Temple
Worship," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 20 (Winter 1987): 79-80,
"That the Masonic ceremony itself changed and evolved even in recent
centuries does not necessarily invalidate Joseph Smith's claim that he was
restoring, by revelation, an even more ancient temple ceremony to which
the Masonic one bore certain resemblances. On the other hand, neither
does that claim constitute a declaration of the total independence of the
Mormon temple ceremony from any external cultural influences, including
Masonry. Frankly, I have some difficulty understanding why this should be
such a big issue, except to those with a fairly limited understanding of how
a prophet gets ideas. Since prophets and religions always arise and are
nurtured within a given cultural context, itself evolving, it should not be
difficult to understand why even the most original revelations have to be
expressed in the idioms of the culture and biography of the revelator."

7 D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power (Salt Lake
City: Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, 1994),
115.

8 For studies on Mormonism and Masonry, see Kenneth W. Godfrey,
"Joseph Smith and the Masons, "Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society
64 (Spring 1971): 79-90; Reed C. Durham Jr., "Is There No Help for the
Widow's Son?" typescript (privately circulated), 1974; Mervin B. Hogan,
"Mormonism and Freemasonry: The Illinois Episode," in Little Masonic
Library, edited by Carl H. Claudy, 5 vols. (Richmond, Va.: Macoy Publishing
& Masonic Supply Co., 1977), 2:267-327; Robin L. Carr, Freemasonry in
Nauvoo, 1839-1846 (Bloomington, 111.: Masonic Book Club and the Illinois
Lodge of Research, 1989); and Michael W. Homer, '"Similarity of
Priesthood in Masonry.'"

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

141

Grand Lodge in June 1841 for a Nauvoo dispensation were denied,
yet four months later Abraham Jonas of the Columbus Lodge ap-
proved the Saints' application. In December 1841, eighteen Masons
met to organize a Nauvoo lodge at Hyrum Smith's home. Jonas
officially installed the lodge and its officers on 15 March 1842.
Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, his counselor in the First Presi-
dency, were both initiated on this occasion in a room above Joseph's
red brick store. More than five hundred Mormon men joined or
were elevated within the first five months, causing Nauvoo Masons
to outnumber all other Masons in the state combined. 9

In addition to their Masonic membership, shared widely with
other men in Nauvoo, these nine were among the highest ranking
and most trusted leaders of the church. Hyrum was assistant church
president; William Law was a member of the First Presidency;
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards were apos-
tles; William Marks was Nauvoo Stake president; Newell K. Whitney
served as Presiding Bishop; James Adams and George Miller held
positions of local leadership.

The Anointed Quorum met on at least two subsequent occa-
sions (perhaps as many as four) before the end of 1842. Vinson
Knight apparently became the tenth man to be initiated that year,
although this is not certain. 10 Those who left accounts of these meet-
ings record that they often received instruction, discussed items of
business and current interest, and engaged in prayer. For example,
on 26 and 28 June 1842, meetings focused on "the situation of the
pine country & Lumbering business" where men were logging Wis-
consin timber for the temple. On each occasion, quorum members
"united in solemn prayer," asking, for example, for aid in dealing
with legal matters facing the Church, and for protection of a quorum

Corner, "'Similarity of Priesthood in Masonry,'" 28-29.

10 John C. Bennett, A History of the Saints; or, An Expose of foe Smith
and Mormonism (Boston: Leland & Whiting, 1842), 247-48. Bennett cites a
letter from George W. Robinson dated 8 August 1842 which claims that
Vinson Knight had been endowed. Because Knight had died a week earlier
on 31 July 1842, his initiation, if Bennett is correct, must have occurred
between May 6 and the end of July. Because he was bishop of Nauvoo's
Lower Ward and an early polygamist, he is included in the list of members
in this essay.

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member who was to leave the next day to bring his family to Nau-
voo. 11

Following meetings in July (and possibly September), the
Anointed Quorum did not meet again until May 1843. The gap
between meetings probably resulted from the John C. Bennett crisis
that placed most of the Church's business, including the temple
construction, on hold. Bennett, who had moved to Nauvoo in Sep-
tember 1840, quickly rose to prominence in the new community.
Within five months he was mayor of Nauvoo, chancellor of the Uni-
versity of Nauvoo, and major general of the Nauvoo Legion. Two
months later, he was sustained as acting counselor to Joseph Smith.
Church leaders soon learned, however, that Bennett had been se-
cretly practicing his own version of plural marriage without Joseph's
authorization. (Joseph had begun revealing his doctrine of plural
wives to other Church leaders, including members of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles in mid- to late-1841.) Joseph branded Ben-
nett's activities as adulterous, and Bennett withdrew from the
Church shortly after the organization of the Anointed Quorum in
May 1842.

During the fall of 1842, Bennett published a book-length ex-
pose of Joseph Smith, the Saints, plural marriage, and the Anointed
Quorum. Although many of Bennett's claims were based on hearsay,
others reflected first-hand knowledge, and the situation posed a
dilemma for Joseph, who wanted to keep knowledge of both plural
marriage and the Anointed Quorum private. Public discussion over
Bennett's charges of "spiritual wifery" forced Joseph to denounce
Bennett's allegations publicly while privately remaining true to the
doctrines that he had been teaching and living. 12

1 William Clayton, Diary, Kept for Joseph Smith, in "Book of the
Law of the Lord," 26, 28 June 1842, in The Papers of Joseph Smith, Volume 2:
Journal, 1832-1842, edited by Dean C. Jessee (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book,
1992), 393-94.

12 George D. Smith, "Nauvoo Roots of Polygamy, 1841-1846: A
Preliminary Demographic Report," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
27 (Spring 1994): 1-72; Todd M. Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural
Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997); Richard S. Van
Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy: A History (Salt Lake City: Signature Books,
1986), and Kathryn M. Daynes, More Wives Than One: Transformation of the
Mormon Marriage System, 1840-1910 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press,

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

143

The situation intensified when Hyrum Smith, William Law, and
William Marks, all members of the Anointed Quorum who were
unaware of Joseph's plural marriages, tried to rid the Church of such
teachings. Joseph's private secretary, William Clayton, recorded 23
May 1843: "Conversed with H[eber] C. K[imball concerning a plot
that is being laid to entrap the brethren of the secret priesthood by
Brother H[yrum] and others." 13 As Brigham Young later related,
apparently within a day or two, Hyrum approached him: "I have a
question to ask you," Hyrum began. "You and the twelve know some
things that I do not know. I can understand this by the motions, and
talk, and doings of Joseph, and I know there is something or other,
which I do not understand, that is revealed to the Twelve. Is this so?"
Young responded: "I do not know any thing about what you know,
but I know what I know." Hyrum continued: "I have mistrusted for
a long time that Joseph has received a revelation that a man should
have more than one wife, and he has hinted as much to me, but I
would not bear it. ... I am convinced that there is something that
has not been told me." Brigham then responded:

[BJrother Hyrum, I will tell you about this thing which you do not
know if you will sware with an uplifted hand, before God, that you
will never say another word against Joseph and his doings, and the
doctrines he is preaching to the people. He replied, "I will do it with
all my heart;" and he stood upon his feet, saying, "I want to know the
truth, and to be saved." And he made a covenant there, never again
to bring forward one argument or use any influence against Joseph's
doings. Joseph had many wives sealed to him. I told Hyrum the whole
story, and he bowed to it and wept like a child, and said, "God be
praised." He went to Joseph and told him what he had learned, and
renewed his covenant with Joseph, and they went heart and hand
together while they lived, and they were together when they died, and
they are together now defending Israel. 14

Hyrum's conversion to plural marriage and the renewed inti-

2002).

13 George D. Smith, ed., An Intimate Chronicle: The Diaries of William
Clayton (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in association with Smith Research
Associates, 1991), 105.

i4 Brigham Young, quoted in Ehat, "Joseph Smith's Introduction of
Temple Ordinances," 57-59.

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macy of the two brothers may have prompted the meeting of the
Anointed Quorum on 26 May 1843, the first after at least eight
months. The interval between William Clayton's diary entry,
Hyrum's conversation with Brigham, and the quorum's meeting was
only three days. William recorded in his diary on 26 May that
"Hyrum received the doctrine of priesthood," meaning that he ac-
cepted plural marriage. 15

Andrew Ehat suggests that the discussion of Hyrum's conver-
sion to plural marriage did not occur in this meeting of the Anointed
Quorum because William Law, who never accepted plural marriage,
was present: "According to his testimony, William Law never knew
from Joseph Smith that plural marriage was a practice of the Church
until D&C 132 was recorded. This was seven weeks after the 26 May
meeting." 16 Joseph may have broached the topic indirectly, theoreti-
cally, or not at all. Michael Quinn, another historian of the Anointed
Quorum, believes that Hyrum's conversion prompted Joseph at the
26 May meeting to reendow everyone who had been endowed the
previous year. William Marks and George Miller were the only mem-
bers of the Anointed Quorum absent from this meeting. Whether
Joseph instructed quorum members in plural marriage at this time,
Hyrum's acceptance revitalized the quorum and Joseph's plans for
it. One result, according to Quinn, was that Joseph decided two
months later to designate Hyrum his successor. After the 26 May
meeting, according to Quinn, "Events in the Quorum of Anointed
and other groups associated with the secret practices of Nauvoo were
often more crucial than events occurring within open, public fo-
rums." 17

On this occasion, the quorum also renewed the practice of
prayer circles, a ritual which became increasingly important in quo-
rum meetings and remains an important part of LDS temple wor-
ship. These ritual prayers imparted to members the "endowment of
power" they believed they possessed. 18 Diary entries mentioning, for
example, "prayer meeting at j[oseph Smith]. 's old house" 19 usually
refer to meetings of the Anointed Quorum.

15 Smith, Intimate Chronicle, 106.

16 Ehat, "Joseph Smith's Introduction of Temple Ordinances," 62.
17 Quinn, Origins of Power, 54-55.

18 D. Michael Quinn, "Latter-day Saint Prayer Circles," BYU Studies
19 (Fall 1978): 79-105.

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

145

On 28 May, two days after this crucial meeting, Joseph Smith
introduced another ceremony to the Anointed Quorum: marriage
sealings for eternity. 20 On 28 May, Joseph Smith and James Adams
were sealed to their spouses, Emma Hale Smith and Harriet Denton
Adams. This was an important moment for the Smiths, as Emma
Smith, like Hyrum, had originally opposed her husband's teachings
on plural marriage (and would again), yet had reconciled herself to
the doctrine and practice, for "in the background of Joseph's intro-
duction of the temple ordinances was the principle of plural mar-
riage." 21 The next day, Hyrum, Brigham, and Willard Richards were
all sealed to their legal wives. 22

Four months later, on 28 September, the first women were
initiated into the quorum, beginning with Emma, who received her
endowment on or just before that date. The previous year, Joseph
had organized the women's Relief Society and, using Masonic ter-
minology, had instructed the women in his vision of their organiza-
tion. "Let this Presidency serve as a constitution" he said, proposing
"that the society go into a close examination of every candidate. . . .

19 Willard Richards, Diary, 12 November 1843, LDS Church Archives.

Joseph had actually begun marriage sealings for eternity in April
1841 when he married his first documented plural wife, Louisa Beaman.

21 Ehat, "Joseph Smith's Introduction of Temple Ordinances," 74-75.
He adds: "Joseph had persuaded Emma to accept plural marriage in part
by assuring her she could choose his wives. Shortly before her 28 May
sealing, she designated Emily and Eliza Partridge and Sarah and Maria
Lawrence and witnessed their weddings to her husband. She did not know
that Joseph had already married at least sixteen women, including the
Partridge sisters, two months earlier. By July 1843 when Joseph dictated
the revelation sanctioning polygamy (D&C 132), Emma had changed her
mind. Hyrum Smith read it her, after which he reported to Joseph: 'I have
never received a more severe talking to in my life. Emma is very bitter and
full of resentment and anger.'" Quoted in Linda King Newell and Valeen
Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith (Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday, 1984, 142-52.

2 ~Scott H. Faulring, ed., An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and
Journals of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in association with
Smith Research Associates, 1986), 381. Hyrum Smith and Adams were not
polygamists at this point; Young and Richards were. George Smith,
"Nauvoo Roots," 37-69.

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that the Society should grow up by degrees" He added that God
would "make of this Society a kingdom of priests as in Enoch's day." 2 ^

At the Anointed Quorum's meeting on 28 September 1843,
Joseph "was by common consent and unanimous voice chosen Presi-
dent of the quorum and anointed and ord[ained] to the highest and
holiest order of the priesthood (and companion [i.e., Emma])." 24
This ordinance, called the "fullness of the priesthood" or second
anointing, fulfilled the promise of the first anointing. 25 According
to Glen M. Leonard, this "crowning ordinance" was "a promise of
kingly powers and of endless lives. It was the confirmation of prom-
ises that worthy men could become kings and priests and that
women could become queens and priestesses in the eternal
worlds." 26 "For any person to have the fullness of that priesthood,"
Brigham Young explained, "he must be a king and priest. A person
may have a portion of that priesthood, the same as governors or
judges of England have power from the king to transact business;
but that does not make them kings of England. A person may be
anointed king and priest long before he receives his kingdom." 27
Those who receive their second anointings, according to twentieth-
century Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, "receive the more sure word
of prophecy, which means that the Lord seals their exaltation upon
them while they are yet in this life. . . . [T]heir exaltation is assured." 28
During the ordinance, explains historian Lyndon W. Cook, a hus-
band is "ordained a priest and anointed a king unto God," while

23 Minutes of the Nauvoo Female Relief Society, 17 March 1842, in
Buerger, Mysteries of Godliness, 51; emphasis his. These words were also
common Masonic terms and prompted Bennett to accuse Joseph of
establishing a lodge of female Masonry. Quinn, "Latter-day Saint Prayer
Circles," 85-86.

24 Faulring, An American Prophet's Record, 416.

25 DavidJohn Buerger, "'The Fulness of the Priesthood': The Second
Anointing in Latter-day Saint Theology and Practice," Dialogue: A Journal
of Mormon Thought 16 (Spring 1983): 10-44.

26 Leonard, Nauvoo, 260-61.

27 Joseph Smith Jr. et al., History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, edited by B. H. Roberts (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 6 vols,
published 1902-12, Vol. 7 published 1932, 1980 printing), 5:527.

28 Bruce R McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed. (Salt Lake City:
Bookcraft, 1966), 109-10.

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

147

wives are "anointed priestesses and queens unto their husband."
"These ordinances," Ehat adds,

depending on the person's ecclesiastical position, made the recipient
a "king and priest," "in," "in and over," or (as only in Joseph Smith's
case) "over" the Church. Moreover, the recipient had sealed upon
him the power to bind and loose on earth as Joseph explained in his
definition of the fulness of the priesthood. Another blessing, growing
out of the promise of the sealing power was the specific blessing that
whatever thing was desired it would not be withheld when sought for
in diligent prayer. 30

"There is no exaltation in the kingdom of God," Joseph Fielding
Smith, writing as Church Historian and apostle, "without the ful-
ness of priesthood." 31

Throughout the remainder of 1843, the quorum continued to
expand, with eternal sealings and second anointings following initia-
tion as members. Such ordinances consumed a significant portion
of the time, but the quorum also addressed important issues con-
fronting the Church. For example, on 12 November 1843, after
Alpheus and Lois Cutler received their second anointing, "I [Joseph
Smith] spoke of a petition to Congress, my letter to [James Ar-
lington] Bennett, and intention to write a proclamation to the kings
of the earth." On 3 December with "all present except Hyrum and
his wife," William Wine Phelps read Joseph's appeal to the Green
Mountain Boys of Vermont to require Missouri to redress its wrongs
against the Saints. Joseph's written appeal "was dedicated by prayer
after all had spoken upon it." 32 As Quinn points out, these meetings
during November and December 1843 were the first time in Church
history that men and women together discussed theocratic issues.
Other such meetings would follow. 33

However, the Anointed Quorum was not an administrative or
legislative body. Its authority stemmed from their anointings and

29 Lyndon W. Cook, Joseph C. Kingsbury: A Biography (Provo, Utah:
Grandin Book, 1985), 94.

30 Ehat, "Joseph Smith's Introduction of Temple Ordinances," 95-96.

31 In Bruce R. McConkie, comp., Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and
Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1956), 3:132.

32 Faulring, An American Prophet's Record, 429-30; emphasis mine.

33 Quinn, Origins of Power, 116.

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endowments, both of which were strictly spiritual in nature. They
discussed the appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, then made it a
matter of prayer. The quorum did vote on matters that affected the
group, however. For example, when William Law rejected plural
marriage and stopped attending quorum meetings, the group voted
formally to expel him in early 1844. Bathsheba Bigler Smith, a mem-
ber of the quorum and wife of George A. Smith, who attended this
meeting, said that "each one present vot[ed] yes or no in his [or her]
turn." 34 Quinn summarizes: "All available evidence shows that the
Holy Order's only administrative function pertained to . . . the en-
dowment ordinances from 1843 to 1845," and stresses that "even
when male members of the Anointed Quorum conducted adminis-
trative business, they sometimes made a distinct separation between
meeting in their Church capacity to discuss administrative matters
and meeting as the Quorum of Anointed to have a prayer circle
about the matters discussed." 35

By the end of 1843, the quorum numbered at least thirty-eight
individuals and had met at least thirty-two times, mostly to endow
new members, advance others in the ordinances, and engage in the
true order of prayer. Eighteen women had been initiated into the
quorum and been endowed. Fifteen members had received the sec-
ond anointing while as many as seventeen couples had been sealed
for eternity.

As the quorum grew, it is important to note the family relation-
ships between Joseph and other quorum members (see Table 1).
Although the quorum included a number of Joseph's biological kin
and relatives by marriage, relationships established by his and other
plural unions also broadened the familial connections. Eventually,
some thirty-nine initiates (44 percent of all quorum members)
shared a family connection to Joseph, thus strengthening existing
bonds of loyalty and increasing the trust Joseph hoped to foster and
maintain within the group.

The year 1844 proved to be a difficult, yet prosperous twelve

34 Bathsheba W. Smith, Testimony, 16 March 1892, in Complainant's
Abstract of Pleading and Evidence, In the Circuit Court of the United States,
Western District of Missouri, Western Division at Kansas City. The Reorganized
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Complainants vs. The Church of Christ
at Independence, Missouri (Lamoni, la: Herald Publishing House, 1893), 360.

35 Quinn, "Latter-day Saint Prayer Circles," 90-91.

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

149

Table 1

Family Connections to Joseph Smith of Quorum Members,

1842-45

Quorum Member Family Connect ion to Joseph Smith

Lucy Mack Smith

Hyrum Smith

Mary Fielding

(wife of Hyrum Smith)

Mercy Fielding Thompson

(sister of Mary Fielding Smith and

Joseph Fielding

(Mary and Mercy's brother)

Hannah G. Fielding

(wife of Joseph Fielding)

Samuel H. Smith

William Smith

John Smith

(brother of Joseph Smith Sr.)

Clarissa Lyman Smith
(wife of John Smith)

George A. Smith

(son of John and Clarissa Smith)

Bathsheba Bigler Smith

(wife of George A. Smith)

Emma Hale Smith

Louisa Beaman/Beman

Mary Adeline Beaman/Beman Noble
(sister of Louisa Beaman)

Joseph Bates Noble

(husband of Mary Beaman)

Olive Grey Frost

Mary Ann Frost Pratt

(sister of Olive Frost)

Parley Pratt

(husband of Mary Ann Frost)

mother
brother
sister-in-law

sister-in-law by marriage
Hyrum Smith's plural wife)

brother-in-law by marriage

sister-in-law by marriage

brother
brother
uncle

aunt by marriage
first cousin

cousin-in-law by marriage

first wife
plural wife
sister-in-law

brother-in-law by marriage

plural wife
sister-in-law

brother-in-law by marriage

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Quorum Member

Family Connection to Joseph Smith

Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde

Orson Hyde

(husband of Marinda Nancy Johnson)

Helen Mar Kimball

Heber C. Kimball

(father of Helen Mar Kimball)

Vilate Murray Kimball

(mother of Helen Mar Kimball)

Fanny Murray Young

VUate Murray Kimball

(stepmother of Fanny Young)

Heber C. Kimball

(stepfather of Fanny Young)

Rhoda Richards

Levi Richards

(brother of Rhoda Richards)

Willard Richards

(brother of Rhoda Richards)

Jennetta Richards Richards

(wife of Willard Richards)

Sarah Ann Whitney

Joseph C. Kingsbury

(civil husband of Sarah Ann Whitney; and
[deceased])

Newel K. Whitney

(father of Sarah Ann Whitney)

Elizabeth Ann Whitney

(mother of Sarah Ann Whitney)

Agnes M. Coolbrith

Elizabeth Davis Durfee

Zina D. H.Jacobs

Mary E. Rollins Lightner

Sylvia Porter Sessions

Eliza Roxcy Snow

plural wife
co-husband

plural wife
father-in-law

mother-in-law

plural wife
stepmother-in-law

stepfather-in-law

plural wife
brother-in-law

brother-in-law

sister-in-law by marriage

plural wife

co-husband
son-in-law; wife, Caroline Whitney

father-in-law

mother-in-law

plural wife
plural wife
plural wife
plural wife
plural wife
plural wife

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

151

months for the quorum. Members were added by vote. In late Janu-
ary, for example, William Clayton recorded: "Brother [Reynolds]
Cahoon came to my house to say that a vote had been taken on my
being admitted into the quorum and I was accepted." 36 It is unknown
if recommendations for admission came solely from Joseph or also
from other quorum members. However, each member had a say in
the matter and admissions received unanimous votes. In her remi-
niscence of the decision to drop Law, Bathsheba Smith also recalled:
"One member hesitated to vote, which called forth earnest remarks
from the Prophet Joseph. He showed clearly that it would be doing
a serious wrong to retain him longer. After his explanation the vote
was unanimous." 37

Although the quorum met primarily for prayer and ordinance
work, meetings also included instruction on scripture and doctrine.
For example, on 28 January 1844, in addition to the usual prayer
circle, Joseph spoke on the coming of Elijah as recorded in Malachi
4. The following week, he expounded on the scriptural teaching of
the 144,000 in the book of Revelation. At an earlier meeting that
month, John Taylor had addressed the quorum and "made some
appropriate remarks unto edifycation." 38 The quorum met more
than twenty times in January and February 1844, averaging at least
twice and often three times a week.

After William Law's expulsion from the Anointed Quorum, he
became estranged from Joseph and was excommunicated three
months later on 18 April 1844, along with his wife and brother.
Three days later, he helped to found the Reformed Mormon Church
and for the next two months worked to expose Joseph as a "fallen"
prophet. Meetings of the Anointed Quorum became less frequent
as Church leaders dealt with these latest challenges: only four times
in March, once in April, and six times from May until Joseph's and
Hyrum's deaths in late June. Meetings also dealt less with spiritual
matters and more on the crisis with dissidents and reformers. For
example, William Clayton recorded on 28 April: "We united [in
prayer] for President Joseph the Church, the presidency contests the

36 Smith, Intimate Chronicle, 125.
37 Bathsheba Smith, Testimony, 360.

38 Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woodmffs Journal, 1833-1898,
typescript, edited by Scott G. Kenny, 9 vols. (Midvale, Utah: Signature
Books, 1983-85): 2:344, 348, 346.

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The Journal of Mormon History

Lawsuits. The apostates, the sick &c. &c." Still, he added, "We had
a good time." 39 The friendship, trust, and unity experienced within
the quorum was a welcome respite from the turmoil in the commu-
nity at large.

On 7june 1844, Law and others published the first (and only)
issue of the Nauvoo Expositor, which detailed Joseph's plural marriage
teachings and advocated repeal of Nauvoo's city charter. Joseph, as
mayor of Nauvoo, and the city council, declared the Expositor a. nui-
sance and ordered its destruction. Joseph was charged with inciting
a riot and other treasonous activities. While awaiting trial in
Carthage Jail, he and Hyrum were killed by a mob on 27 June.

Their deaths placed in a special category those who had already
joined the Anointed Quorum compared to those initiated during
the next year and a half, before the completion of the Nauvoo Tem-
ple. What role did plural marriage play in membership? Although
there was a high correlation, not all in the Anointed Quorum were
polygamists. (See Table 2.) Of the thirty-seven men and twenty-nine
women (sixty-six total) initiated during Joseph's lifetime, sixteen
men and twenty women (54.5 percent of all members) were polyga-
mists either before or after initiation. These sixteen men repre-
sented 43 percent of male initiates (24 percent of all members); the
twenty women represented 69 percent of female initiates (30 percent
of all members). Thus, practicing plural marriage was not required
for admission into the quorum although acceptance of the doctrine
certainly was. 40

The correspondence between membership in the Anointed
Quorum and those who received their second anointings was also
not complete. Of the men and women initiated during Joseph's
lifetime, nineteen men and seventeen women (56 percent of all in-
itiates) received their second anointing prior to Joseph's death. (See
Table 3.) These nineteen men represented 51 percent of male mem-
bers (29 percent of all members), the seventeen women 59 percent
of female members (26 percent of all members). Of the nineteen
husbands who received the second anointing during Joseph's life-
time, eleven (58 percent) were polygamists, eight (42 percent) mo-
nogamists. No plural wife received the ordinance until after Joseph's

39 Smith, Intimate Chronicle, 131.

40 See the list of Nauvoo polygamists in George D. Smith, "Nauvoo
Roots," 37-69.

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

153

Table 2

Plural Marriage among Quorum Members
during Joseph Smith's Lifetime

/. Plural Husbands and Wives Initiated During Joseph Smith 's Lifetime

Husbands

Wives

James Adams
Reynolds Cahoon
William Clayton
Orson Hyde

Heber C Kimball
Vinson Knight

Isaac Morley
Parley Pratt
Willard Richards
Hyrum Smith

John Smith
Joseph Smith

William Smith
John Taylor
Lyman Wight

Harriet Denton Adams, Roxena Repshire*

Thirza Stiles Cahoon, Lucina Roberts*

Ruth Moon Clayton, Margaret Moon

Marin da Nancy Johnson Hyde, Martha
Rebecca Browett,* Mary Ann Price*

Vilate Murray Kimball, Sarah Peak Noon*

Martha McBride Knight,*

Philinda Clark Eldrcdge Myrick*

Lucy Gunn Morley, Hannah Blakeslee Finch Merriam*

Mary Ann Frost Pratt, Elizabeth Brotherton*

Jennctta Richards Richards, Sarah LongstrotJh*

Mary Fielding Smith, Mercy R. Fielding-
Thompson, Catherine Phillips*

Clarissa Lyman Smith, Mary Aikens,* Julia Ellis Hills*

Emma Hale Smith, Agnes M. Coolbrith, Elizabeth
Davis Durfee, Marinda Nancy Johnson
Hyde, Fanny Young Murray, Louisa
Be[a]man,* Prescindia L. H. Buell,* Sarah
Kinsley Cleveland,* Hannah Ells,* Olive
Grey Frost,* Desdemona Fullmer,* Elvira
Annie Cowles Holmes,* Zina D. H.Jacobs,*
Almera Woodward Johnson,* Helen Mar
Kimball,* Martha McBride Knight,* Maria
Lawrence,* Sarah Lawrence,* Mary E. Rol-
lins Lightner,* Melissa Lott,* Sarah Scott
Mulholland,* Emily Dow Partridge,* Eliza
Maria Partridge,* Rhoda Richards,* Ruth
Vose Savers,* Patty Bartlett Sessions,* Sylvia
Porter Sessions,* Delcena Johnson Sher-
man,* Eliza Roxcy Snow,* Lucy Walker,*
Sarah Ann Whitney,* Nancy Maria[h] Win-
chester,* Flora Ann Woodworth,*

Caroline Amanda Grant Smith,* Mary Ann
Covington Sheffield,* Mary Jones*

Leonora Cannon Taylor, Elizabeth Kaighan,*
Jane Ballantyne*

Harriet Benton,* Jane Margaret Ballantyne?,*

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The Journal of Mormon History

II Known Plural Hvsbands Not Initiated in the Anointed Quorum During
Joseph Smith 's Lifetime

John E. Page
Ebenezer Richardson
William Sagers
Erastus Snow
Theodore Turley
Edwin D. Woolley
Lorenzo Dow Young

George F. Adams
Ezra T. Benson
Howard Egan
William Felshaw
William D. Huntington
Joseph A. Relting
Joseph Bates Noble

*Not a member of the Anointed Quorum during Joseph Smith's lifetime.

Table 3

The Second Anointing and Plural Marriage
among Quorum Members during Joseph Smith's Lifetime

Members Who Received Second Anointing Marital Status

Husbands

Wives

at the Time

Reynolds Cahoon

Thirza Stiles Cahoon

Polygamist

Alpheus Cuder

Lois Lathrop Cutler

Monogamist

Orson Hyde

[Anointed without wife]

Polygamist

Heber C. Kimball

Vilate Murray Kimball

Polygamist

Cornelius Lott

Permelia Darrow Lott

Monogamist

William Marks

Rosannah Robinson Marks

Monogamist

Isaac Morley

Lucy Gunn Morley

Polygamist

William W. Phelps

Sally Waterman Phelps

Monogamist

Orson Pratt

[Anointed without wife]

Monogamist

Parley P. Pratt

[Anointed without wife]

Polygamist

Willard Richards

Jennetta Richards Richards

Polygamist

George A. Smith

Bathsheba Bigler Smith

Monogamist

Hyrum Smith

Mary Fielding Smith

Polygamist

John Smith

Clarissa Lyman Smith

Polygamist

Joseph Smith

Emma Hale Smith

Polygamist

[Husband deceased]

Lucy Mack Smith

Monogamist

John Taylor

Leonora Cannon Taylor

Polygamist

Newel R. Whitney

Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney

Monogamist

Wilford Woodruff

Phoebe Carter Woodruff

Monogamist

Brigham Young

Mary Ann Angell Young

Polygamist

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

155

death, leading Quinn to conclude that, during this period, "polyg-
amy was only an appendage 'to the highest order of the priesthood'
[i.e., the fullness of the priesthood] established on 28 September
1843. " 41 Had Joseph lived, requirements for initiation into the quo-
rum and the ordinances themselves would probably have evolved
further, especially considering the changes that had taken place in
defining and bestowing the endowment between 1831 and 1843.

During the succession crisis that followed Joseph's death, some
of the drama played out in the Anointed Quorum. As Quinn points
out, during the five weeks after Joseph's martyrdom, "the primary
format for discussing succession was at meetings of the Quorum of
Anointed. Three-fourths of the apostles and other leaders were
weeks away from Nauvoo. Unlike all other quorums, the Quorum
of Anointed had no requirement that a majority be present to con-
duct business." 42 However, quorum members were divided on ap-
pointing a trustee for the Church; some wanted to act immediately,
while others, including Willard Richards, wanted to await the apos-
tles' return. 43 The second group prevailed. The quorum met six
times between 27 June and 8 August: on 30 June 4, 7, 12, 14, and 24

July-

Following the arrival in Nauvoo of a majority of apostles, Sid-
ney Rigdon, Joseph's first counselor, presented the case for his ap-
pointment as "guardian" of the Church at a public meeting on 8
August. However, most Church members favored the leadership of
the Quorum of the Twelve, with Brigham Young as its president. At
Rigdon's excommunication the next month, Apostle Orson Hyde
denounced Rigdon's revelations and observed that the dilemma
could have been resolved elsewhere: "There is a quorum organized
where revelations can be tested." Although Hyde did not identify
the Anointed Quorum by name, he was clearly thinking of its prayer
circles. 44 The day after Rigdon's failed bid, Young assembled the
Anointed Quorum and its members voted to stop admitting new
initiates "till times would admit." 45

The meetings of the Anointed Quorum were also curtailed. In

41 Quinn, "Latter-day Saint Prayer Circles," 88.
42 Quinn, Origins of Power, 149.
43 Ibid., 150.
^Ibid., 171.

45 WiUard Richards, Diary, 9 August 1844.

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The Journal of Mormon History

September, there were three meetings, two in October, none in
November, and one in December. At that meeting on 22 December,
quorum members voted to admit three women, although they actu-
ally entered the quorum later. However, in 1845, Young presided
over 146 meetings of the quorum, usually between five and ten times
a month; but from 2 October to 1 1 December, they met daily. They
also added more than twenty to the quorum. In the process, accord-
ing to Quinn, Young helped "make polygamy an institution instead
of furtive practice" by increasing the percentage of plural wives
within the quorum from 7.6 percent during Joseph's lifetime to 57.1
percent. 46 Young also resumed the administration of second anoint-
ings in 1845.

In addition to admitting or advancing members, the quorum
regularly held prayer circles in its meetings. They prayed for deliv-
erance from their enemies, for example, asking that Thomas Sharp,
editor of the anti-Mormon Warsaw Signal and accused murderer of
Joseph Smith, "be visited with judgements." They also implored di-
vine retribution on troublemakers inside the Church, such as pre-
siding patriarch William Smith (Joseph's younger brother), who "is
endeavoring to ride the Twelve down." 47 At a time when the Saints
were struggling to complete their temple and simultaneously dealing
with internal and external strife, many of the quorum's meetings
lasted late into the night. On 18 May 1845, for example, the quorum
was in session until 2:00 A.M.; on May 22, the meeting ended at
midnight; on 29 May, quorum members did not return home until
1:30 A.M. It is obvious from the minutes that the power they collec-
tively invoked in the true order of prayer motivated them to unite
together until they could open the temple, endow the Saints, and
evacuate Nauvoo.

The Anointed Quorum met for the first time in the Nauvoo
Temple on 7 December 1845. Three days later, they launched the
monumental process of endowing the general adult membership of
the Church. Although the temple was unfinished, the attic level was
completed, allowing ordinances to be performed for over five thou-
sand men and women until 6 February 1846.

While the Nauvoo era of LDS history is remembered, in part,
for development associated with the temple, the Anointed Quorum

46 Quinn, Origins of Power, 176.
47 Smith, Intimate Chronicle, 167.

Devery S. Anderson/The Anointed Quorum, 1842-45

157

set the stage for those teachings. It was the Anointed Quorum that
met together for three and a half years, participating in sacred rites
and receiving instruction from Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and
other leading Church officials. Any study of Nauvoo must treat the
Anointed Quorum as Joseph's contribution to temple-related theol-
ogy. The quorum should be recognized for its comforting and in-
vigorating spiritual power, acting as a separate body from those
governing the Church administratively.